Here is to a great 2011

Has it really been almost a year since my last pots? That's ridiculous! And I'm sure I could come up with a million excuses ... the kid's schedule keeps us busy, mostly soccer but this year she is going year round with indoor soccer in the winter until spring soccer starts back up, the husbands work schedule and all the events he is involved in, Festival of Trees was a huge success again this year and of course he keeps busy with the President's Club events around the area, or my schedule kept us busy, what with studying for the state board exam for tax preparing - a 5 hour test??!!??!! that was insane.
At any rate, it's been almost a year and I'm not going to beat myself up about it. Things are good now and getting better by the day. I have a great staff, some of them very new, who are taking good care of the studio while I embark on my third tax season, but for this one I'm fully qualified to prepare taxes and have set a goal of 100 tax returns that I prepare on my own. That is a huge jump from the 12 I semi-prepared last year.
I start boot-camp tomorrow (yikes!) and I'm optimistically terrified. So if you see me in the next few days, just know that my face doesn't usually look like that, I'm just sore and cranky. And if you see me in the weeks after that, tell me what a good job I'm doing, because I'm sure I could use the encouragement.
Courtney continues to amaze me every day. She is very observant and kind, two great qualities in a kid who is not yet 7. She enjoys soccer more than anything else, and I don't even think she realizes she is the only girl on her team. She runs as fast if not faster than the boys and charges the ball in a way that makes me cringe, but I'm proud of her. She fell skinned her knee on the sidewalk a couple weeks ago, while doing an crazy jump of some sort, and the next day we had to design an outfit around her wound so she could show it off at school. She is quite a kid.
We are looking forward to a trip to Las Vegas later in the spring, as well as her 7th birthday party and an evening at the theater when Wicked the Musical comes to Eugene. Court knows all the words because we listen to the soundtrack in the car a lot, and she is probably more excited to see it than Mike and I.
It's going to be a great spring!

DISNEY Bisque!!!

Disneyland is a big part of my childhood and I even worked there for awhile during college. We have always gotten many requests for Disney bisque and now I am so excited that Disney Bisque is on it's way!! We expect the order to arrive sometime next week and we are SO excited. There will be more pieces released throughout the year so we will be bringing in new pieces as they are released.
What is your favorite Disney character or Disney memory?

Kate Tiernan is a fan of

BrushFire...Pottery By You!

Create your Fan Badge

Love

We are back from vacation! It was so much fun. Despite the crazy weather in southern california we adventured from the Zoo to the Aquarium to Universal Studios with many other stops in between. And the Lego store at Downtown Disney was by far the best 3 hours we spent shopping :) Courtney is a Lego-maniac right now (egged on by her dad) and we had way too much fun shopping and playing in the Lego store.
Now we are home and back to school and work. And it is tax season which means I'm back at my fantastic accountant's office helping out with taxes and whatnot. It is busy, but its so much fun!
Coming up are a trip to Uncle Nony's house in Washington for a birthday extravaganza and hopefully some great family mini-trips a little more local.
The studio is doing great. My staff is amazing and I'm so fortunate to have each and every one of them. Valentines Day is coming and lots of adorable gifts are being made. And we are frantically planning Spring Break Camps so be on the lookout for flyers for that. Meanwhile come in and paint something bright and sunny to prepare for spring...it really is right around the corner.
My peace today is that I'm doing something I love and learning lots while doing it. My love is my daughter and how well she is handling the adjustment to me being back at "work" for awhile. And my pottery is the fantastic coffee mug I use at my office desk for tea in the morning.
May you all have Peace, Love and Pottery as well!

Time for a vacation

As you may be able to tell it has been quite awhile since my last post. Mostly due to the fact that we are a retail business and the holidays bring a level of chaos that just does not allow for sitting and blogging at my convenience. There was not a weekend in December that we (and I mean we, the husband, the kid, the whole crew) were not at the studio working and glazing and helping customers create their fantastic holiday gifts. Mike is our lifesaver spending every one of his weekends helping out in the kiln room. Courtney learned to glaze this year and did a great job on the little ornaments and whatnot. And the rest of us spent the month running around trying not to look like chickens with our heads cut off. We had a great season and are enjoying the relative calmness now. It's just enough time to breathe for a minute because then we gear up for Valentine's Day and before we know it Easter and Spring Break. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Let's just enjoy today!
And today we are planning a vacation. Courtney and I are getting ready to take off on a road trip. (Poor Mike has to work, but someone's gotta do it!) We leave late this week for California to spend some time with Yai Yai and our friends in the LA area. Sunshine and warmth, here we come! We will out of necessity have our cold weather clothes on as we drive away but we will be shedding layers the farther south we get. Sandals and t-shirts are in the suitcase. This reminds me that I should get a pedicure. These toes haven't seen sunshine in months!
I'm looking forward to time with the kiddo in the car, and to time with the three of us for many many days together. And really looking forward to the mental break and the anticipated return when I am relaxed and ready to begin the tax season at my other "job". It's going to be a great spring!
~Peace, Love and Pottery
Kate

Another successful year at Festival of Trees!

This is one of my favorite events every year and this year was no exception. We met some great people and enjoyed the people watching during the 4 hour event. The fundraising this year is for a new Hospice House and the event was well attended and well funded. Our little contribution makes a difference and this is the time of year to remember that.
Now that the fun of that event is over I'm heading back to the studio and the hustle and bustle of our wonderful business. I'm sure there will be an update on that soon!

Giving Thanks

I have seen so many FB status updates about what people are thankful for this week. Seemed strange to me until I realized that Thanksgiving is NEXT WEEK!?!?! I'm sorry, what now?
So the leisurely approach to my "to-do" list just went out the window. Here is a sample of what I'm attempting to get done in the next 5 days.
~Call the electrician to fix the bathroom light fixture which has been on the fritz for weeks and we are just now getting around to doing something about it.
~Clean out the garage enough that Mike can get his boxes of stuff out for the annual fundraiser he is the finance chair for. (Notice I did not say finish the job - think more of a path to through our personal crap to get to his work crap that is buried in there somewhere)
~Move back the piles of crap to expose the washer and dryer and get caught up on laundry
~Plan and shop for our part of the Thanksgiving meal at GG and Papa's house
~Spend an afternoon with my dad and his wife so they can see Courtney - done!
~Get Courtney's bedroom ready for Mike's mom who is visiting for a week
~Attend Mike's work party but leave early so we can make it to Courtney's Fall Harvest Party at school - Not going, decided to just do the fun school party instead!!!
~Get a haircut? This is a big maybe. Might be more like me hacking at my hair in the bathroom. - done!
~Finish the staff schedule for the studio
~Get an email ready to send to all our customers letting them know about our Black Friday Sale - delegated, so done!
~Clear the pile of clean laundry off the top of the dresser and actually get it put away. I know the pair of pants I'm missing are somewhere in that pile.
~Pick up my mother-in-law at the airport
~Spend a morning in Kindergarten being the helper parent

And I'm a little tired just thinking about all of that. So now I'm heading to Dutch Brothers to get some energy. It's gonna be a great day!